Yayoi Kusama, the pioneering Japanese artist renowned for her polka-dot motifs and immersive Infinity Mirror installations, died on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her innovative work, which spanned over seven decades, influenced multiple art movements and garnered worldwide acclaim late in her life.

Born in Matsumoto, northwest of Tokyo, in 1929, Kusama’s early life was marked by trauma and vivid hallucinations that profoundly shaped her artistic vision. As a child, she experienced repetitive visions of polka dots, pumpkins, and flowers, which she described as “wondrous” yet “horrifying.” These images became central to her creative practice and persisted throughout her life. Kusama was the youngest of four siblings, born into a conservative, upper-class family of seed merchants. Her upbringing involved significant familial conflict, including being sent by her mother to spy on her father’s infidelities, a circumstance that contributed to her lifelong aversion to sex and a difficult relationship with her parents.

During World War II, Kusama worked twelve-hour shifts sewing parachutes for the Japanese army. After the war, she enrolled at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts, training in a traditional painting technique she later found limiting. She frequently painted in her spare time, developing a style that fused surreal, psychedelic, and abstract elements. Kusama began exhibiting her work in 1948.

Inspired by the work of American artist Georgia O’Keeffe, Kusama moved to New York City in 1957, bringing with her thousands of drawings and paintings. There, she struggled initially, painting in a run-down studio and surviving on scraps of food. Over time, she emerged as a distinctive figure within the avant-garde scene, blending aspects of abstract expressionism, minimalism, and pop art. Her breakthrough came with the “Infinity Nets” series in 1958—intricately layered paintings that evoked rippling, living surfaces. Kusama also became known for her sculptures and provocative public performances, including “happenings” in which she adorned and covered herself and others with polka dots.

During the 1960s, Kusama aligned her art with countercultural movements and political protest, staging performances against the Vietnam War and the Nixon administration. Her works often examined themes of “self-obliteration,” cosmic unity, and sexuality, sometimes courting controversy for their erotic and unabashedly provocative nature. Kusama’s 1966 installation “Narcissus Garden,” featuring 1,500 reflective spheres sold with the sign “your narcissism for sale,” challenged traditional notions of art and consumerism, earning both acclaim and criticism for its confrontational style.

Following the death of her long-term partner, painter and filmmaker Joseph Cornell, in 1972, Kusama returned to Japan. Her lifelong struggle with mental health led her to voluntarily enter a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo in 1977, where she lived for the remainder of her life but continued to work prolifically in a studio located across the street. Despite her relative seclusion, Kusama’s art remained politically and socially engaged. In 1995, she produced poignant paintings commemorating the victims of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

Kusama's international recognition grew steadily later in her life, with retrospectives and high-profile exhibitions attracting wide audiences. She represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1993 and collaborated with luxury brands including Veuve Clicquot and Louis Vuitton. Her immersive Infinity Mirror rooms became especially popular, captivating a new generation of viewers and social media users with their kaleidoscopic light effects. Some museums implemented strict time limits due to demand.

Throughout her career, Kusama remained committed to expressing her complex inner visions despite significant personal challenges. She once said her art was a way to “express my thoughts” and continue creating even if no one ever saw her work. Her legacy endures in her profound influence on contemporary art, her fearless exploration of mental health through creativity, and her role as a trailblazing female artist who found global success on her own terms.